A cluster based on-demand multi-channel MAC protocol for wireless multimedia sensor networks

A Wireless Multimedia Sensor Network (WMSN) is an emerging networking paradigm that allows retrieving video and audio streams, still images, and generic sensing data. Different from conventional wireless sensor networks, a WMSN requires higher network bandwidth and throughput to deliver multimedia contents effectively using energy-constrained devices. In this paper, we propose a clustered on-demand multi-channel MAC protocol (COM-MAC) to support energy-efficient, high-throughput, and reliable data transmission in WMSNs. The operation of proposed protocol consists of three sessions: request session, scheduling session, and data transmission session. For COM-MAC to achieve high energy efficiency, first, a scheduled multi-channel medium access is used within each cluster so that cluster members can operate in a contention-free manner within both time and frequency domains to avoid collision, idle listening and overhearing. Second, to maximize the network throughput, a traffic-adaptive and QoS-aware scheduling algorithm is executed to dynamically allocate time slots and channels for sensor nodes based on the current data traffic information and QoS requirements. Finally, to enhance transmission reliability, a spectrum-aware ARQ is incorporated to better exploit the unused spectrum for a balance between the reliability and retransmission. Simulation results indicate that COM-MAC can achieve increased network throughput at the cost of a small control and energy overhead.